High Speed Rail in the United States Jan. 2014 | Page 9

The Northeast Corridor 8

The Northeast Corridor

The Northeast Region currently contains 51 million people—that’s one in seven Americans—a population that is expected to rise to 58 million by the year 2040. (www.necfuture.com) The region is also an economic powerhouse, producing 1/5 of the nation’s GDP.("NEC Facts & Figures") The Northeast region is therefore of enornous economic importance.

The above figure depicts the majorpassentger markets alon the spine of the Northeast Corridor. The majotiry of passengers stop in New York City, coming from either north or south of the city, with the city as their final destination. The market going through the city, for example from Bostion to D.C. is considerably smaller, especially considering that such a trip currently takes upwards of seven hours.

Figure 2

Figure 3